She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
by Loki of Jotunheimr
Summary: Was this some bizarre courtship ritual? Super coloured impossi-flowers appearing from thin air wasn't a normal thing, except when you considered a mischievous Asgardian prince who was bored. [Will be 6 chapters total - rated for future chapters] NOTE: This story is under temporary hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Inspired by Nemhaine42's Asgardian flowers. Go to her tumblr and check out the artwork [tagged #tasertricks]. It's perfection. [Prompt + art used with permission]. Other fic to be updated as I re-train my writing muscles.

Suggested listening:

Florence + The Machine – Hardest of Hearts  
Angus and Julia Stone – Big Jet Plane  
Zedd [feat. Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant] – Find You  
The Civil Wars – Dust to Dust

* * *

From his perch on the balcony of the Golden Palace, Loki found himself looking out upon the great expanse of the colourful Asgardian sky. It wasn't that long ago that he was imprisoned for his crimes, and though he wasn't exactly 'reformed' (as some might like to think), he was certainly glad to be back where he belonged.

Odin had a mouthful to say about Loki's deception when he finally awoke from the Odinsleep. One of the younger prince's allies was unexpected in his fervent defence, however: Lady Sif. There had been enough bad blood between the two, yet she stood up for his decisions over the last year, claiming that he brought a sense of stability to Asgard, not unlike Odin himself. The great king had lifted a silver brow at that, but had accepted her word — along with the grudging agreement of the Warriors Three — as fact. The unspoken yet ghostly feeling of guilt haunted the Allfather as he declared to all of Asgard that Loki would serve a probationary period in the palace.

His magic as strong as ever, Loki began to hone it to an even finer point during his probation. Thor was back on Midgard with his mortal woman, so there wasn't much in the way of "innocent" mischief to be caused. The library and his mother's old tomes held plenty more for him to learn as he holed himself away from the rest of Asgard. Within those pages, he learned more about his transportation magic and the many things he could do from his own bedroom.

It began innocently enough. Loki had been curious how far he could extend his sphere of magic. Shutting his eyes in concentration, he curled his legs into himself and sat straight as a board.

He'd been a religious practitioner of meditation, so his mother's gardens came to mind fairly quickly. It was peaceful there; the scents, sounds, and feel of the petals beneath his fingertips reminding him of simpler times. Frigga's favoured silver-tipped, sunset gold petalled lilies drew his mind's eye, glistening in the waning Asgardian sun as though winking at him.

His lips lifted into a soft smile, the breath leaving through his nose as he focussed his energy.

It was just a fleeting thought. Who could have expected that anything would come of it?

* * *

"Jane!" came the shout of a definitely irritated assistant.

Rolling her eyes, the scientist set her notebook on the lab bench and turned around in her wheelie-chair. "What is it this time? I'm so close!"

Darcy huffed as she lowered her own notebook filled with illegible Jane-scrawls. "Yeah, yeah. Why don't you get Thunderman to finish up for a sec?" She tossed her head in Thor's direction, who was busy fiddling with Stark's latest gadget. "I need you to go over these figures again. Were you, like, high on the epic Fumes of Science when you wrote these?"

Jane wrinkled her nose before rolling over to Darcy's table, completely disregarding the latter's suggestion. Thor was busy anyway.

"It's simple," she said, fingers already tracing the figures as Darcy's eyebrows grew tighter and tighter.

The end of the day seriously couldn't get there fast enough.

Luckily, a few hours later, they were locking the lab up. The back of Darcy's head was the only thing Jane saw as she called out:

"6am tomorrow!"

Muttering "6am my ass," Darcy swiped her keycard for the elevator and tapped her foot impatiently. The sooner she walked through her door, the quicker she could shuck every stitch of clothing and laze about in a sudsy bathtub. Lavender this time. Or maybe freesia?

The ding of the lift broke her train of thought for a split-second, only to return to her imaginings of the rest of her evening during the smooth ride up.

"Floor 20," FRIDAY's crisp accent called out. "Have a lovely evening, Miss Lewis."

"Same to you!" Darcy chirped back, a definite bounce to her step.

Dreams of bubbly little fairies danced in her head with each step closer to her apartment. The sweet scent of lavender and… was that _lilac_? …filled her nose as soon as she got within ten feet of her door.

"I need to cut back on the coffee," Darcy murmured to herself, the green light beeping to let her in.

What met her senses was seriously something out of the twilight zone. That lavender-y/lilac-y fragrance hit her stronger, with a touch of jasmine and sweet tea just tickling the tip of her nose. It was the strangest smell she'd ever experienced, despite its pleasant effect on her whole body. Like a sleeping draught and stress-reducer wrapped into one, she felt her cares wash away, her eyelids threatening to droop any minute.

One by one, her things littered the hallway and living room in a messy trail leading to the bathroom. Darcy crouched butt naked next to the tub, her fingers wiggling under the faucet as the water became gloriously hot.

"That's a good girl," she cooed to the faucet, her toes already tingling in anticipation of the first step into the steamy water.

"Miss Lewis?" FRIDAY's artificial voice questioned. If Tony's new AI could sound perplexed, that was definitely it.

"Oh, nothing. Just complimenting your boss's superb plumbing. Carry on!" Her salute looked blurry in the mirror without her glasses on, but she could make out her mega-watt smile all the same.

"Very well. Pleasant bath."

The thumps and thuds of her rooting around under the sink fell quiet as she found what she was looking for. _Pepper Potts has the best taste in toiletries_ , she thought happily, tipping the glass bottle under the faucet and watching the frothy bubbles take shape. Lavender swirled through the room, effectively pushing that odd scent out the door for the time being.

As soon as she slipped into the bath, she felt her entire body turn into a puddle of amazing goo. That whatever-it-was effect from before coupled with the _everything_ of this bath knocked her right out.

Thank god she always used a floatation neck pillow, or she'd be really fucked.

* * *

Lots and lots of flowers. All over the place, like a whole ball pit filled with them as far as the eye could see. She was **swimming** in flowers, for god's sake.

" _They represent youthful curiosity and hope_ ," whispered a disembodied voice.

Darcy felt like she was moving super slo-mo as she turned to seek out the source of those words. All she could see were those flowers, their fragrance filling up her nose and making her want to wrap herself in the silky petals and roll around like a cat cracked out on catnip.

Was that a spot of drool on her lip?

All of a sudden, a bright image lit up around the edges of her vision that she absolutely could not make out. Even squinting left her more confused than before. Like a word on the tip of your tongue, it was slipping away faster than she could whip out a butterfly net and take a swing at it.

 _Shit!_ Darcy cursed mentally, that last image startling her from the weird-awesome-still-weird dream she'd just had. Water sloshed over the rim of the bath as she sat up straighter and got to work scrubbing the day's grime off.

"Seriously Darce, cut back on the caffeine. And alcohol. Maybe even cut down on Mad Scientist Jane rambling. She's turning you nuts, too." It didn't escape her notice that she was talking to herself.

Bath time finished, she got up, nearly avoiding a fatal and would-be embarrassing slip. "Oh my god, shitty way to die," she murmured to herself as she started wrapping a colourful striped towel around her chest. Foregoing drying and brushing her hair in favour of a messy bun, she finished up with her teeth and smacked her lips, glasses slipped right back in place.

The hallway clock read 8:16pm as she puttered about. A quickly nuked dinner and watered down glass of tea later found Darcy padding into her room to change for the night.

That scent again. It got way stronger as she crossed the threshold. Searching the room out didn't immediately shoot up any warning flags so she shrugged to herself and pulled on a set of sleepy panda PJs. "Thank you, Forever 21!" she sighed in praise. Cute PJs were so damn hard to find anywhere else.

When she went about drawing down the sheets on her bed, she saw it: sitting atop her night table, casual as could be, was a crystalline jade vase. In it was a single deep orange stem topped with the most unusual flower she'd ever seen.

Crawling across her bed, she gingerly touched the tip of a petal with her index finger. Darcy's senses were overwhelmed by the softness and the fragrance. As though the stuff of her dreams had plopped down right in front of her, beckoning her with its rich detail.

"This is so weird." The same index finger absently stroked her lower lip as she tried to connect the dots. "FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Miss Lewis?" asked the AI.

"Did someone send me a flower delivery?"

Darcy looked around for a card, but she found the table otherwise empty. Just the half-full glass of water for the middle of the night.

"No Miss, none that went on record. Shall I question the front desk staff?"

Dropping her hand from its absent touch, she pulled off her glasses and kicked the sheets back. "No, no, it's fine. Probably just Jane or Thor. Thanks FRIDAY!"

"My pleasure. Sleep well, Miss Lewis."

The undeniable sensation of exhaustion tugged at her mind again, her blue eyes turning hazy the more she tried to recollect ever seeing a flower like that before. "Yeah, you too," she belatedly replied, her mouth already closing as she felt herself succumb to sleep.

* * *

Far, far away, on the Realm Eternal, Loki looked down from his balcony into seemingly nothing. His eyes shut before a slow current of magic moved through him, the unspoken confirmation that his mother's flower had ended up someplace bringing a smile to his serene face.

Midgard was the last place he'd imagined, but when he pictured the mortal girl in his mind's eye, he thought perhaps it was fortuitous. He'd covertly watched her before, when Thor had landed himself on the realm in his banishment, and subsequently when Loki himself went down to subjugate the populace. Unfortunate that he could not call himself King of Midgard today.

No matter. This would be far more interesting a diversion.

The more he thought about the direction his magic took him, the more intrigued he became. As though the forces that be were telling him some unspoken secret he should be wise to listen to.

Perhaps a future delivery was in order.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _Utrix_ , thanks for the review. Looks like I might add another chapter based on my outline.

Chapter 2 mini-playlist:

Kaskade [feat. Mindy Gledhill] – Eyes  
Jackie James – What I Like  
Deadmau5 – Strobe  
Skrux [feat. Kaelyn Behr] – No Place Like Home

* * *

Another day, another buck. Or in Darcy's life, another case of "let's see what Jane will science today."

After yesterday's strangeness, she was ready to get to work and subtly try to figure out where that weirdo flower came from.

"I told you 6," Jane spoke up from behind her homemade monitor. Those looked like some serious bags under her eyes. The slept-no-hours kind of bags, more precisely.

"Seriously, boss?" Darcy shot back, before plopping down an extra-large cup of the strongest sludge coffee she'd found in town. It was gone in a fraction of a second, Jane's slender fingers clutching onto it like a lifeline.

"Got a few more figures for you over there," she said vaguely with a wave of her other hand.

"Gotcha. All-nighter?" She grinned as she waggled her eyebrows, hoping against hope that it meant Thor was involved. And not in a science-y way.

"Aye, it was a spectacle the likes of which Midgard has never seen!" boomed the godly voice from the corner. Again with the Stark gadget, but at least this time, he looked up from the screen and smiled right back. Bright as the sun, with perfectly straight teeth she would kill for.

Heading over to her own desk, Darcy gave Thor two thumbs up and added, "Great job, buddy. Keep up the fab work. Make sure your woman over there gets some sleep tonight though, right?"

Was that a _blush_ on those godly cheeks?

"Indeed. 'Twill be my pleasure to oversee her rest."

He really didn't get it, and he'd been on earth for how long…?

At least today went by pretty smoothly, for the most part. Even though the Bifröst was perfectly functional on Asgard's side, their job was to ensure they had their own doorway through intergalactic space in case Odin decided to pull another "Dishonour on you, dishonour on your cow!" move in the near future.

Tapping her fingers aimlessly on the mousepad, Darcy stared at another wall of numbers that were starting to blur before her face. Pulling the earbuds out, she huffed and pushed away from the desk, rolling back and turning 180 to see what Jane and Thor were up to.

"So, boss, is it lunchtime yet? I thought I could maybe grab some falafel or something. The idea of pizza's making my stomach tur —"

Okay, empty lab, no monitors on. Bad sign.

"Jane?" She got up and poked her head round a few monitors and doohickeys. No Jane. Blinking away the confusion from her face, she about-faced and glared up at the monitor mounted on the ceiling.

"Damnit, Stark! Can you warn a girl? I'm here all a-freaking-lone and I'm hungry."

"May I offer some assistance, Miss Lewis?"

FRIDAY's smooth accent made Darcy jump for once. "Oh my god, where's Jane? And Thor? Is this another of bossman's pranks? Because I swear, last time he set a cherry bomb in my toilet and —"

"I'm afraid not, Miss. They were called into an urgent meeting. Shall I request their presence upon the meeting's conclusion?"

Huff. Glare. She felt like a five-year-old. With good reason to sulk, come to think of it. They could've at least _told_ her they were going. "Naw, just tell them I'm off to lunch if they ask. Not like they will, anyway, since I'm so obviously not important enough to tell things to."

The muttering continued as she saved her work and shut down the computer. Thoughts of falafel completely dashed, she went back home for lunch, pushing all the floor buttons so the lift rode up eeeextraaaaa sloooooow. That'd show them to leave her behind.

Either her floor was suddenly the prettiest smelling one in the city, or she was hallucinating. Or maybe… Darcy's keycard swiped the lock open and she quickly rushed to her bedroom, anticipation riding her adrenaline up through the roof.

There, right in the middle of her bed, protected within a silken looking sheet of tissue paper, lay a stunning purple flower. Well, purple, pink, and black, she realised, as she got a closer look. The edges of the petals looked like those ancient arrowheads she'd learned about in archaeology. The nearer she got to this impossibly unnatural flower, the stronger the fragrance grew. She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, a wistful smile twitching her lips. It smelled like something out of a fruit basket: raspberry, maybe a touch of pomegranate, with a hint of something clean and fresh… maybe cotton? Whatever it was, she remembered her step-mom humming to herself as she hung the laundry out to dry. She'd always worn this fruity perfume that, when mingled with the laundry, made Darcy think about lazy summer days.

She gently sat on the end of the bed, just eyeing the flower for a minute. While it looked soft, it also had a strange edge to it. Not so much sharp; just crisp, clean lines that made her imagine a quick-witted chess player putting her in checkmate. Weird.

Looking around her room, she settled her gaze on the vase by her bedside, walking over to check it out. The silver-sunset gold lily was still there, its petals and stem as fresh as last night. Not even an ounce of water seemed to have been sucked up or evaporated. _Super_ weird.

Turning back to the daisy-looking flower, she gingerly picked it up and stashed it next to the burnished flower on her night table. Her thumb stroked the paper it sat on, wondering where it'd come from. Who even made paper like this? It was too shiny, too silky, almost like a fabric but so delicate, it felt like it might tear apart with the slightest tug.

A million questions swirled in her head as she padded back to the kitchen and started whipping up a quick egg/avocado/chicken sandwich that she scarfed down in record time. Groaning in contentment, Darcy proceeded to heat up a kettle of tea. Nothing like black tea to keep her energy levels high for the rest of the day. When it whistled its little tune, she filled up her giant double-insulated tea cup (more like a bucket, with the way she went through it), and let the rest trickle into another for Jane. Even when she was miffed at her boss, she wanted to make sure the scientist remembered to eat and stay hydrated.

Fleetingly, she wondered if she should maybe take the flowers back to the lab and get Jane's opinion on them. She scienced. Maybe she knew something about botany, too.

"Okay weirdo flowers, let's find out what you are, and where you came from." Her idle chatter seemed to make the flowers perk up as though they were listening. Or at least, she told herself that's what they were doing. Anthropomorphic flowers were kind of a cool concept.

Tea and flora packed up, Darcy let the door of her place slam shut as she made her way back to the lab. "Hey FRIDAY, is that meeting over?" she called when she approached the elevator doors.

"It finished several minutes ago. Miss Foster was searching for you upon arriving at the lab. Shall I let her know you're on the way?"

Smirking to herself, she pushed all the floor buttons again before the door shut. "Nah, let her sweat."

* * *

Back in his secluded part of the palace, Loki sat in the middle of his room, eyes shut as he stretched his magic to Midgard. Although he may be physically locked up in his wing of the Golden Palace, he had already found a few ways to get out. What needed to happen next was to test his escape down to earth.

But for now, he watched Darcy Lewis closely. He smiled when she seemed taken by each flower he'd sent.

The second was another from his mother's garden — this one's connotation a little more playful and meant to entice. It certainly appeared to capture her attention.

When he'd finished dinner the night of his first delivery, he found himself wondering what his master plan was shaping into concerning this mortal. He realised that he'd paid her more attention than he'd ever thought, Darcy Lewis's quick wit and sharp tongue always floating around in the back of his mind even when he was furthest away from himself. While he loathed to think of himself as another slave to a woman, he had to admit that she intrigued him. More than that, when he saw her that day he sent the Destroyer, she was just… so very different from anything else he'd encountered. He'd observed her plenty more over the last couple of years; listened to her prayers, which she sometimes would aim at him and someone called Veles. She made him want to _play_ , to really let out the mischievous part of him and live life like he hadn't since he was a child. She unknowingly helped him heal from the painful loss of his mother, and for that, he was silently grateful.

Not that he would ever tell _anyone_ , of course. Harbouring feelings like this was bound to turn into something else he might destroy, so he tried to be as covert as possible. Let her know that someone was admiring from afar, but give no hints as to whom it might be. Flowers were a typical gift to a woman on Midgard, after all.

As he lay back in his bed for the second night, he contemplated his next move. Tomorrow he would try to project himself on Midgard. See for himself how she liked his mother's flowers.

* * *

"It could be an orchid. They come in exotic colours and shapes, don't they?" Jane asked, her face practically shoved into a botany book. So Darcy was slightly off-target thinking that Jane could science the hell out of this. Turns out they were both clueless about plants.

 _Mental note about Jane: if it isn't a black hole or Thor's hammer, she probably doesn't know shit about it._

Darcy snickered to herself at the thought.

"What, did you think of something?" her bosslady asked.

"Oh, no, just y'know, wondering if your alien had anything to do with it." _Smooth recovery._

Although, now that it was out there…

They both looked over their shoulders, heads pressed together, as though they were watching an animal in the zoo.

Thor pumped his fist as he set down that damn Stark gadget, smug look on his face. Darcy could hear the tinny cheering from across the room.

"Jane my love, I have beat another round!" he started to say, only to be caught off-guard by their almost predatory stares. "Jane? Lady Darcy?"

The second he stood, his eyebrows scrunched together and he walked over with purpose. "What is the meaning of this?"

Darcy pushed herself back from the table when Thor's meaty hand reached for the flower behind her. "Woah, you know what this is?" she might have maybe screeched. Can't blame a girl for being too invested in a mystery.

"Aye. This bloom is unique to Asgard. Where did you find it, Lady Darcy?"

Poor Jane was opening and closing her mouth like a fish. It was pretty damn hilarious.

"Um." Her finger dragged her glasses down her nose in thought. To tell him the whole story or… "Well, see, these two just sort of showed up in my apartment. It wasn't you, then?"

Now Jane's mouth was definitely turning into a frowny line at that. More like an annoyed, suspicious frowny line. Shit.

"I would have no access to these flowers, even should I wish to," he replied as he put the silvery sunset flower down. She seriously needed to find a name for these things.

Bosslady sat up from the table, her lips suddenly growing into a smile. "Could you tell us more about them? They're like nothing I've ever seen. Those colours, the shapes, they're unreal!" Science was a drug for Jane Foster, Darcy was sure of it.

"First I would very much like to know how they arrived on this realm. The only way I could think of is through Heimdall, but why should he have cause…?"

As Thor cut himself off, Darcy was gathering the flowers up close to her chest. If Jane went nuts with their origin, she might take them away and do god-knew-what to them. "While you two talk, I'm gonna take these back to my place, okay?"

Thor placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a stern look. "Please be cautious about these gifts, Lady Darcy. Until I find out how they came here, I should not become too attached." There was something else in his eyes, some semblance of curiosity mixed with concern.

"Fine, fine. I'll keep them in the lab for now. Cool?"

She was already going to find a cup before either of them could respond.

* * *

Later that night, Darcy shut down her computer and finished cleaning up her desk. The remnants of their late takeout was starting to smell like death warmed up.

"Ugh," she muttered, sweeping the containers into the trash. A whiff of jasmine caught her nose and she immediately smiled. At least her impossi-flowers were still as fresh as when they arrived.

The initially small pile of botany books on the work table looked like it had babies over the last few hours. Several piles were spread out, along with a few notebooks containing Jane's notes and some of Thor's awesome drawings.

"See you tomorrow!" Darcy called into the next room. Thor and Jane had their heads bowed in conversation, but the big lug at least managed to look up and wave goodbye.

It felt odd leaving her flowers behind in the lab overnight. Her foot tapped against the floor of the lift all the way up to the residential floors. She felt an empty sensation walking down the hall. They were only two days, but smelling those beautiful scents had really grown on her. Something in her chest ached at the loss.

The night's routine went by slower than usual.

"Damnit Darce, it's not like you were dumped," she said to her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her face looked more bedraggled than usual after a long day.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell into another psychedelic dream.

Green mist swirled around the edges of her vision instead of that bright white light. Jasmine, pomegranate, and sweet tea invaded her senses while a rainbow of colours shot overhead, raining purple and golden petals down on her.

A hand went up to cover herself from the petal downpour, though when they touched her, their silky bodies brushed down her arms in a gentle caress.

Darcy dropped her hand and looked up into the raining sky. Fluffy streaks of yellow-orange pollen dotted her nose and cheeks, making her laugh at the sensation. The petals surrounding her flew back up, forming a rippling ring around her until they reached the crown of her head. Light purple rays shot down from them, leaving behind a gold-streaked lavender cape that wrapped around her shoulders and trailed down to the ground.

She felt like a princess amidst the beautiful colours.

* * *

Loki raised his fingertips from her temple. The images in her mind made her curl up around her pillow, a soft smile on her face. In turn, he felt content.

That overpowering sensation accompanied him as he disappeared from her bedroom, leaving Darcy to her sweet dreams.

On her barren night table sat a new pastel green flower, the tips of its petals dotted in gold. His colours should be hint enough.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** _rats xp_ and _Utrix_ : Thanks for reviewing! Hopefully this lives up to what you were anticipating. The best is yet to come. :D

Chapter 3 mini-playlist:

Alex Goot – It Girl  
Cazzette – Beam Me Up  
The Used – Blue and Yellow

* * *

The dawning of the next morning came all too readily for Darcy, who'd had the most anxious sensation throughout most of her dreams. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear she had something big planned for today.

After yawning and pulling her muscles into a satisfying stretch, she blindly navigated her bedroom in her typical morning routine. Would that Jane could see her now; she'd accuse her of reenacting the latest episode of The Walking Dead.

"Zombie Darcy, argh, grr," she muttered against her toothbrush. Though blurry, she could tell her hair was a warzone reflected back at her.

Her feet dragged just a little more than usual thanks to that trippy dream, but everything went pretty smoothly, all things considered. Why couldn't real life be that amazing?

Although she hadn't been looking when she reached for her glasses, she knew there was something wrong. Well, weird. Out of place. Dare she hope…?

Quickly shoving the specs on her face, she turned to look back at her night table.

"Yes!" her shout bounced across the walls. Sitting casually on the scuffed wood was a gorgeous light green blossom dotted with gold. Darcy pulled it into her chest and sighed happily. These flowers were seriously becoming a welcome part of her day.

It had the most unique scent by far, though. From a distance, she didn't even smell it, but up close she could detect the faintest hint of hickory wood chips and something musky. And oddly sweet? Her nose was still stuck in the middle of the flower as she walked down the hall.

This one was definitely going in her hair.

* * *

"Good morning, you two!" Darcy sing-songed when she entered the lab.

Both Jane and Thor looked up, along with a new, yet far too familiar face.

"Oh, Mister Darcy!" Tony Stark shrieked in a high pitched voice, hand to his chest. "Have you come to sweep me away to Pemberley?"

"Nay!" she replied, rolling her eyes. "You are not worthy of my vast fortune, Miss Bennet!"

Jane and Thor looked between the two with adorably dumbstruck faces. Although to be fair, Jane's was more like a pinched lemon. She really needed to read more.

" _Pride & Prejudice_, duh," Darcy flippantly said as she passed by the two. Her punch landed right on target: Tony's grimace and exaggerated "OUCH!" as he rubbed his arm were the second best things to happen to her today.

"That's for that cherry bomb."

His face lit up with a shit-eating grin, hands settling on his hips.

"That was only in retaliation for reprogramming FRIDAY to curse at me. Nice job, by the way. Always wanted to hear an Irish woman say 'fuck' to me."

Before she could respond, an arm got in her face while touching her new hair decoration. Jane was like a squirrel with ADHD when she saw something alien.

"Another one?" she breathed, her eyes lit up with that Science look. Despite the watery gaze and Rudolph nose, Jane was pushing forward to get a closer glimpse. Man, allergies made her look like a Mare from Scandinavian myth.

Darcy recoiled and held the flower protectively against her hair. "Bad Jane! This one is my special baby. It's the coolest one yet. It'll also give you hives, so _no_."

Thor was oddly quiet just sitting at Jane's desk. Tony, on the other hand, was as loud as ever.

"Is that the Asgardian mojo flower?" he asked with his own curious look. He was already whipping out a tablet to scan it as Darcy said:

"Yeah, and if you two think you're gonna take this one, you have to go through me for it."

Tony grinned and Jane looked determined, but it was Thor who stood and did a complete turnaround.

"Perhaps it is wise that you keep it nearby, Lady Darcy. It may yet prove helpful to you." The smile on his face was warm, if a bit sad. She found herself at a loss for words except to nod dumbly.

"Thor…?"

The god in question pulled Jane close and successfully distracted her with that big puppy smile and a peck on the cheek.

Darcy turned back to Tony, who was also too quiet. He looked her over for a long minute before breaking out into a smile.

His arm slung across her shoulders in a friendly side-hug. "Must be nice to feel special around us geniuses, isn't it?"

Her elbow 'accidentally' landed in his side, his cries of "Uncle, Uncle!" making her grin.

* * *

From what he could gather observing the mortal girl, she seemed rather close to Thor and his woman. Even Iron Man provoked a smile from her. That thought left an uneasy feeling in Loki's stomach, but he pushed it away in favour of continuing with his plans.

For once, he relished working on a fairly harmless plot. Should anyone dare to call him soft or reformed, he would laugh in their faces and prove them wrong, but when it came to Darcy — he didn't allow himself to traverse that mental path too long. Soon enough, he would see her in person and see how _she_ felt about _him_.

As her day drew later into the afternoon, she would start to notice a change in his flower. Loki would finally appear to her by the time nightfall was well on its way.

He needed to build up his energy for that moment. Oh, to see her face…

* * *

Work was the same as usual. Enter data, load up on coffee, try to make out Jane's muttering, rinse, repeat.

They'd all gotten back to work after being sidetracked by the flower mystery. Seems like Thor was fine with her keeping the blooms for now though, so Darcy was more than happy to gather them up and keep them on her desk. The minty green flower still sat in her hair, dusting its light, musky fragrance around her face all throughout the day. When she closed her eyes, she could picture herself sitting in the middle of an open clearing in some tall forest. Rain would be falling in gentle drops around her, but she wouldn't get soaked, just barely tickled by the mist that rose up.

God, she needed a break. It was almost the end of the day and they still had a ton of things to record. Bathroom trip!

Sidestepping around a fellow lab assistant from across the floor, she slipped through the bathroom doors and headed for the sink. A cool splash of water might refresh her for a bit longer.

The tap ran pleasantly cold along her fingers. She brought them up to splash her face, only to stop mid-way, her eyes staring into the mirror.

"Woah," she whispered and leaned forward.

What was once a uniform pastel green had shifted into an ombre pattern of greens. They got darker towards the edges of the petals, making the gold stand out that much brighter.

"You really **are** magical," Darcy's reflection said back to her, awe dancing in her eyes. Her fingers hovered above a petal before dropping. _Better leave it alone and see if it does anything else awesome_ , she told herself, a sense of giddy anticipation crawling down her spine.

Finishing up the day at work proved tedious, since her mind kept wandering back to the strange magic that made her flower turn darker.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Tony said from behind her. Darcy just about jumped a few feet in the air in surprise.

"Shit, you scared me! Sneaking up on people like that is a creepy move, dude," she replied with a flippant gesture. The two smirked at each other before he pulled up a chair.

"No, really, what's up kid? I need my team at their best and you're dragging ass. What gives?"

She knew he meant it as a joke, but part of her realised how distracted she'd been. And it would be nice to share her thoughts with someone she could trust. Mostly.

"Okay, promise not to blab it to anyone and I'll tell you."

Tony leaned in conspiratorially and grinned like a locker room tween about to hear a juicy piece of gossip.

"I've been thinking these mojo blooms might mean something. I had a few weird dreams since I got the first one…"

It felt much better to unload some of her thoughts on Tony than she'd anticipated. He might be a joker and a douche on the best of days, but he could play it serious when he needed to.

His advice struck a chord somewhere in Darcy.

"Take it as a blessing in disguise. You've been lonely too long, and it seems like someone's showing their admiration from afar. Roll with it and see what happens."

She wouldn't readily admit just _how_ lonely she'd been feeling lately. Sure there was Jane, and Thor when they were all working together; yet she still felt like the only person in the room on those days, her work the only thing to distract her from the tedium her life had become. Maybe she would take the billionaire on his advice and just _enjoy_ this stroke of weirdness.

"Thanks, bossman. You're an ass sometimes, but you've got the wisdom of the ancients on your side." She leaned in for a shoulder bump while he laughed and gave her another side-hug.

"Sure thing. Just make sure to take a selfie from space if you get abducted by your admirer."

After that conversation, Darcy felt lighter than she had for a while. She finished up her data processing and started shutting down the lab, finally poking her head into the next room to wish Jane and Thor a good night. To her surprise, they were already gone, with a little sticky note telling them they'd taken "personal time." Smiling to herself, she thought she'd do the same, so she wrote a note back on the sticky and stuck it right on the middle of Jane's notebook. The day after tomorrow was Saturday, anyway. She could use a long weekend.

* * *

Restlessness kept grabbing hold of Darcy when she tried finding a new position on the couch. Whichever way she held her arms and legs, she would feel pins and needles shoot up her limbs and make her want to scratch her skin off. Game of Thrones droned dully in the background, ignored in favour of her tossing like a fish on dry land.

"Restless Leg Syndrome my ass!" she huffed, dropping her head to the back of her couch and groaning. Her hand idly went up to stroke the petals of her hair flower. Oddly enough, that seemed to calm her for a bit.

After she finished her rerun of Season 1 of GoT, she stood and stretched out. The tingly burning sensation was mostly subsided, except for the occasional zing up her fingers.

What met her in the bedroom made her eyes comically wide behind her glasses.

"Wh-what the hell!" she stuttered, clutching onto the doorjamb for support.

Here she was, standing in kitten PJs, hair askew, glasses slightly crooked, and standing casually in the middle of her room was a GQ model with **killer** cheekbones.

His smile caught her completely off-guard. This beautiful man practically sauntered over, obviously well aware of his appeal, his hand lifting to gently brush her hair with the backs of his knuckles.

"I see you rather enjoy my flower," he said in the most panty-melting voice ever.

"I… was that… you?" _Smooth talking, Darce._

He was grinning at her. Probably would be laughing outright if he weren't so damn suave.

"Indeed it was. I wished to thank you for being an inspiration to me." She was about to interrupt with her bewildered question of _how the fuck?!_ , but he dropped his hand to her lips, his index finger hovering over the plump bottom lip.

"Allow me to show my appreciation properly. How would you like to fly?"

A strange tendril gripped something inside her chest and held on tight. Darcy could only nod twice, her eyes locked on his face to take in every detail. If this was another dream, she wanted to commit each second to memory.

"Then, Miss Lewis, please hold on tight."

He drew her into his chest, the scent of him surrounding her and making her sigh. There was a hint of her latest flower, but something stronger tickled the edges of her nose.

Gasping, she looked up into his grinning face.

"It's you! You gave me those dreams?"

Without responding, Loki held her close in his firm embrace, green swirls of mist surrounding them until they disappeared from her room.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** So, we all know that Loki's secretly a softy. He shows us his true soft pastel-y colours in this update. I also had to add a chapter because these two just don't want to quit. Shout-outs at the end!

Chapter 4 mini-playlist:

Christian Burghardt – Safe Place to Land  
Lana Del Rey – Lolita  
Brendan Benson – Pretty Baby

* * *

What could be described as a controlled fuck ton of chaos was happening right before Darcy's eyes.

She wasn't sure exactly what to call it. Warp? Wormhole? _Black_ hole? Having already realised who this was — she wasn't scared of him, nope, not at all, just because he tried to subjugate the planet and pretended to be dead… but he'd still saved Jane so that was something? — she was definitely sure that they weren't in Kansas anymore. More like another section of space-time. Like the Q Continuum only super ominous and swirly and fucking vomit-inducing.

Granted, he smelled really nice. Kind of pine-y and musky. And a little sweet. _Loki? Sweet?_

The second they landed on something that felt like ground, she tightened her arms around his solid form and squeezed her eyes tightly.

"Oh god oh god oh god," she muttered to herself. "Not gonna hurl, not gonna hurl…"

She could practically feel his smile as his hand ran gently against the back of her head. _Okay, he's being too nice. That's creepy. Right?_ she wondered. Still, it felt kind of good…

"Fear not, Miss Lewis. We are safe. More importantly, you may wish to take in the sights while you get the chance."

Curiosity spiked in her mind and she released her iron grip. A wispy breeze caught the edge of her nose, tickling with its light, springy fragrance.

"Where are we —" she started, only to suck in a gasp as she looked around.

If this was what heaven looked like, Lord, take her _**now**_.

It was like falling in the middle of a scene torn straight out of the pages of _Alice in Wonderland_. Though mostly pastel in shades, there were easily hundreds of colours: from the babiest of blues dusting huge leaves to the fairest, sunshiniest orange-yellow she could imagine painting streaks across petals and vines that hung from chartreuse-coloured trees. Flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colours sat under the sun, soaking up its vivid rays. Was this where all of those trippy, panty-shattering flowers came from?

"Not quite, but rather a good guess," said Loki in a bemused tone of voice.

 _Well shit, did I say that aloud?_ she wondered, a splotch of red spreading across her cheeks. Darcy hesitated before looking over her shoulder at him, sheepishly asking, "Are you trying to get into my pants, or what?"

His responding laugh was more than enough of an answer for her. The fact that his hand stroked down her arm — honest to god _stroked_ , like a sex-crazed cat brushing its tail along your legs — kind of left a tingly feeling in its wake. He didn't just have a silver tongue and knicker-melting voice, he had sex fingers, to boot. She was **so** screwed.

Once the initial awe started to shift into curiosity, she found herself pulling away from him and stepping gingerly across a patch of yellow-green grass. Not the wilty sort of yellow, but like a brilliant shade of acid yellow. Weird but sinfully soft looking.

"Okay, so let's rehash my earlier question: where in the world are we?" Darcy murmured, only slightly distracted.

She was just reaching down to touch said grass when Loki replied from directly behind her:

"I'm afraid we are light-years from your world. This is called the Garden of Wonders, aptly named by the native peoples here. You may know them as Light Elves, what we call the Ljósálfar." In any other situation, she might consider his abnormal proximity a bit creepy, but on this strange world… _world?!_ …his closeness felt a bit grounding. And he was seriously sporting some amazing sex appeal in that green-and-black tunic-y outfit.

She finally crouched down to lightly brush the grass, allowing herself to lean back against him as he followed her lead. "This is beyond amazing, I can't even imagine…"

Shutting her eyes, Darcy inhaled a lungful of the fragrant air and let herself fall back into the memories of her dreams for a few moments. Faint sounds of birds and other chattering animals added to the menagerie of sensations she was soaking up. If she ever imagined travelling to another planet, this was probably what she'd come up with. It was just alien enough, yet still familiar in its own way, to fall on the border of real and unreal.

Loki simply watched her take it all in. The longer she let herself imagine, the more relaxed she became, until she was completely sprawled against him so that his arms and chest were her only support. His little smile grew as he thought that this would almost be enough. But there was still more he needed to show her.

"Come, this is only the beginning," he said softly against the shell of her ear, his whisper a promise of many more wonderful things to come.

Darcy tensed when she realised how relaxed she'd become, but she didn't pull away. For some reason, she wanted to trust him. The fact that his voice brought her shivers probably had a lot to do with that.

"Are we gonna meet the Red Queen for tea?" she quipped, laughing at his quizzically raised eyebrow. "Earth reference, sorry."

"Sounds intriguing," he replied as his hand reached for hers, long fingers interlacing easily with her own as he stood and led the way. "If we should run into this Red Queen, I take it you can take the lead?"

Her eyes widened behind her glasses, left hand going to her chest in mock-fear. "No, no no no! She'll have our heads! Unless we bring her red roses, in which case she'll smile, invite us for tea, and _then_ have our heads!"

Darcy's chatter echoed down the pastel-lined path the further in they went.

* * *

While there were many things one might say to describe Darcy Lewis, mysterious was not your typical adjective for her.

Despite that fact, Loki still found something intriguing about her. She was straightforward with her opinions and random factoids; enough so that his head was almost spinning after travelling a half hour beside her. Observing this unusual mortal from a distance certainly didn't do her justice at all.

And still, he wanted — _craved_ — more.

All of a sudden, her voice wasn't filling up the silence he only distantly desired. Loki stopped walking, his gaze running across her face to see if something was wrong.

"Why?" she whispered so quietly, he leaned forward to hear the sole word.

He instinctively wanted to ask what she meant, but one look at her sombre expression told him everything: she wanted to know why _her_. Why now, perhaps. Why not the other mortal most men might flock to; the one his bro — _adopted_ brother had already claimed.

Or perhaps he was being presumptuous. Either way, he pulled her in by their still-clasped hands, his free fingertips hovering over the flower firmly rooted in her hair.

"You are an inspiration, as well as entirely unlike anyone I have ever met," he said simply. Honestly. For the God of Lies, that was akin to confessing his sins to a mortal priest and begging for absolution.

Much like on Midgard, she was about to say something, so he silenced her with something much more direct.

Although the kiss was swift and barely a meeting of lips, Darcy froze, her hand a vice against his. She wasn't sure if she should kiss back, or gasp, or something else entirely. By the time she'd had a chance to finish her thought, it was already over.

Loki looked at her as though he were studying something on a Petri dish. He had the most penetrating green eyes she'd ever seen, his gaze leaving shivers in its wake.

 _If this is gonna be a regular thing, I'll need to carry a hot pack on me_ , floated the feeble internal thought. And if he could read minds, she was really going to sound nuts.

"That still doesn't answer my question," Darcy muttered under her breath, her hand tugging his to move forward. He didn't miss the smile playing along the corner of her lips, try as hard as she might to hide it. The slight glazed look in her eyes told a different story as well, one that he locked away for future analysis. He'd have fun trying to figure this one out.

Loki smoothly shifted gears by asking, "Would you like to see the ultraviolet pools first, or take a quick tour through an exotic animal sanctuary?"

"Wait what, you want me to **choose**?! Those both sound so cool," Darcy gushed, falling right back into her typical enthusiastic mode.

As it turns out, the pools were first to be visited, and though she wanted to see those awesome animals she could only imagine had horns and wings and other cool mythical appendages, her eyes were definitely getting droopy.

They were wading in the most temperate water she could imagine. Crystalline moss floated towards the shore in radiant hues of blues, purples, even a touch of green. When her finger grazed the edge of a purple one, its lacy surface rippled and danced in all the colours of the rainbow.

"Oh my god, this is unreal," she whispered in awe, her breath leaving in a soft mist. Night was quickly descending.

She caught the hint of an indulgent smile on Loki's face as he came up beside her and gently tugged on her arm.

"We should retire for the evening. I have someplace comfortable laid out for us nearby, so we can return in the morning if you wish."

Darcy was just turning to tell him 'one more minute' when she had a thought. "What time is it on earth?"

Brows crinkling slightly in thought, he replied after a moment. "About 11 in the evening on Thursday, Eastern Standard Time."

Her laugh was quickly smothered with a hand. "Thanks, Timex. Don't quit your day job."

"I shouldn't worry too much about time. Midgard tends to possess the slowest passage of time out of the nine realms, excepting only Hel," he said as he backtracked through the water. Its lukewarm waves lapped slowly against his waist the further out the of the water he rose, until only his legs were still submerged.

Darcy quickly averted her gaze from his moonlight pale skin. With the way the light refracted in this place, she might start to see magical things she definitely didn't need to see. Especially with him being practically naked. The quick gallop of her heart was hard enough to calm down.

"Don't tell me you feel shy," he teased as his hand continued to beckon her forward. She valiantly tried to ignore the way the tips of his fingers whispered along her very exposed arm and shoulder.

"Nope, not at all." She sounded way more confident than she felt, even trying to meet his gaze with a level look. If only she could stop blushing like a schoolgirl, things would be fine.

He dropped it for now, but as before, he tucked her reaction away to exploit later. Loki anticipated using everything in his arsenal when the time came.

Conversation was notably absent as his clothing appeared back on his form in perfect condition. He'd allowed Darcy her own peace of mind when he turned away from her one-legged hop into her jeans, the frustrated little noises she made sounding obscene in the falling dusk of the gardens.

The way back down the path took a slight fork towards the left, where a small open patch lay amidst nut trees. At the far end, Darcy spotted a log house that fit oddly well into the landscape. She could barely separate it from the trees surrounding it if she didn't know what she was looking for.

"Woah, talk about The Hobbit."

"Not quite. You'll find no one else here, and _especially_ not small-statured creatures created in Martin Freeman's image," he replied with a raised brow.

So Loki, the honest-to-god Norse legend, knew some of Earth's cultural blockbusters? Go figure.

"Damn, and here I was hoping for Bilbo's autograph. We're not trespassing on someone's summer home though, are we?"

With a wave of his hand, the solid wood door opened on a creaky hinge. He looked back over his shoulder and completely ignored her question. "Welcome to Alvínn. This location will serve as a temporary respite for us until we return to your home."

She wanted to say something firm about barging into other people's property, but looking around the place, she had a feeling maybe it wasn't what she initially thought. There was a long wooden desk at the front of the entryway that seemed a bit like a hotel check-in, only there was no one else in sight. Before she could comment, Loki placed something in a vine-woven basket and another door swung open, leading into a nicely lit hallway.

"Wait, so is this an elven hotel?" Darcy asked as she fast-walked to keep up with him.

"That would be an apt description," he said without turning back to her. He was fiddling with a door on the right, prompting it to open into a huge… well, mini palace wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Similarly to the Garden of Wonders, there were all sorts of colours and textures here. A few shimmery throw pillows dotted the room's floor, which looked like one giant carpet made out of pale green moss. She couldn't see the whole thing from here, although judging by the two hallways leading to the left and right, she assumed there must be a bedroom, bath, and maybe a kitchen attached to the place.

Loki walked right in and laid out against one of the pillows, his feet suddenly bare and digging into the moss carpet. To say he looked smug with both arms flung behind him and cradling his head would be a serious understatement.

"Well? You may want to get comfortable after earlier's long walk."

Wait, he meant… "Where's my room?"

His smile was distinctly mischievous.

"Behold." He held out his arms to either side of his body, showing off the place in a grand gesture from his spot on the floor. Darcy wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or chew him out.

"Hold up," she started, hand up to stop him from interrupting, "this place does have two rooms, right? Because whatever you might think of humans, I'm not that kind of girl." Her arms crossed over her chest in a serious stance. Well, as serious as she could get with him looking way too delicious with that smouldery expression. Maybe she spoke too hastily.

Loki sat up and levelled her with a scrutinising look. The smoulder was definitely still there, just slightly overshadowed by something analytical that he was prone to doing a lot around her.

"No, I suspected not," was all he said, easy smile back in place as he reclined once again.

She honestly wasn't sure what to make of him. Or this place. Or the fact that he brought her here, kissed her earlier, yet was still acting polite and _mostly_ unassuming around her. Talk about throwing a girl for a loop.

Despite all of that, she plopped down beside him and leaned back into the cushiest pillow ever. Her shoes were flung out beside her in ten seconds flat, mimicking his toe-spreading into heavenly soft moss.

"Soooo good," groaned Darcy, limbs going entirely limp.

Before long, Loki turned to ask her about her thoughts on this visit, only to notice her fast asleep. His expression softened, his hand reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. His flower was still entrenched in her hair against all odds.

"Rest well, Darcy Lewis," he whispered, falling back into a restful position and closing his own eyes. Tomorrow would greet them brightly.

* * *

Owing to her internal clock, Darcy was up at what felt like 6am. She was still hazy from sleep, but she couldn't remember even dreaming last night, nor did she entirely forget where they were. The softness beneath her feet and the smell in the air were simply too alien to feel like Earth.

What she didn't anticipate was the solid mass beneath her arms. Or, well, more like being held hostage by her arms. A definite flush was starting to crawl up her neck when she twisted her head to make sure Loki hadn't noticed. Naturally, he was smirking down at her with all the finesse of a fox mid-hunt.

"Rest well?" he asked cheekily, his trapped body turned very suggestively towards her.

 _Fuck fuck fuck._

"Fine!" she said with as much stability in her voice as she could muster. Too bad it still came out sounding like a helium balloon releasing its contents. Oddly enough, that image made her want to vomit just a little bit.

Pulling herself into a much more respectable position on _her_ side of the… moss-floor-bed- _thing_ she'd slept on, Darcy sat up and shoved her glasses back up her nose.

"So! What other weird yet wonderful thing are we gonna check out today?!" Overenthusiastic, much?

Smirk still in place, Loki mirrored her posture. "I had thought the animal sanctuary would be a nice morning activity. You seemed quite keen on the idea yesterday." He was leaning forward just a little bit as he dropped his voice to shiver-inducing. "Or perhaps we could laze about here all day. My morning is already off to a very pleasurable start."

For the millionth time in so many hours, she figured she was royally screwed. _Royally alien screwed? WAIT! NO. Backtrack._

 ** _…although._**

Forcefully shoving the stupid voices in her head to the very back of her mind marked "WARNING! DANGER! ACHTUNG!" she got up with as much grace as she could muster, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet while waiting for him to join her.

"Yes, that sounds like a fantastic idea. In fact, we should stay there all day. And night. And forever, really. Or, you know, you could always take me back to Earth sometime before we almost get naked again."

Foot, meet mouth. Mouth, meet filter.

"I mean! Before we fall into that awesome pool again. Talk about diverting. And man, Jane has a _lot_ of shit for me to do and —"

"Miss Lewis," Loki said calmly.

"— I just think that, if we go _now_ , maybe we can —"

"Darcy."

"— make it before Jane calls Tony and…" Only a little belatedly, she heard him and turned the tap off her running mouth. "Uh, sorry. Yes, Loki?" _Good, try for sane. He'll appreciate that. I mean it's not like he tried to destroy upper Manhattan._

 _Wait. SHIT!_

"Am I making you feel particularly uncomfortable? You appeared to enjoy yourself yesterday, so if I did something to change that, I would like to apologise."

He knew how to articulate himself, she'd give him that; especially considering that she was having a mini meltdown on her end. Try as hard as she might, she also couldn't ignore the sincerity in those endless depths of perfect emerald. His eyes were sinful.

"No, it's not really… well, yes, but only a little." She wasn't sure how to go on without appearing an utter fool, so Darcy did what she did best: taking a deep breath to steady herself, she dove right in. "I'm kind of worried that you've kidnapped me for reals and while that's truly scary, is it bad that I'm not 100% upset about it? I mean, those flowers, that pool, this whole place. Just… wow."

Silence echoed through the room like an invisible banshee screeching in her ear. Darcy let out her breath and inhaled again, unconsciously holding it.

Then he **laughed**.

Honest to god chuckled, which was starting to turn into one of those deep belly laughs. Her mouth lifted in an empathetic smile, because you really can't _not_ laugh when someone else is busting a gut nearby. Before long, they were leaning against one another for support, both realising the absurdity of the situation and then laughing even longer. It was probably the most cathartic thing she'd done in way too long.

Traces of a few tears lingered on their cheeks when the laughter died down. The remaining silence was much more bearable, leaving them smiling at each other and actively reaching for one another's hands. That's how they later found themselves taking a leisurely stroll down the fork in the road.

This little trip down the rabbit hole could never be described as dull, to say the least.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Smiles1998_ : I live to serve! ;] So glad you liked Tony! He's my ridiculous spirit animal.

 _rats xp_ : Would that I could grow such flowers, I'd gladly bestow you with a gift!

 _Utrix_ & _Mystic 777_ : Spot on regarding the melancholy Thor. Imagine realising it was from his mother's garden, whom your sibling was so close to, when he's been lost for so long. Makes me sympathise a bit with Loki. Okay, a lot. [Also, P&P is a personal fave]

 _Tawny_ & _KieraPSI_ : Thank you! Keep an eye out. :]


End file.
